


It has to be homemade

by lossit_bay



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Adult Life, Alternate Universe - College/University, Baking, Getting Together, Hwang Hyunjin Gossip Machine, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:34:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28002474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lossit_bay/pseuds/lossit_bay
Summary: Seungmin desperately needs help to make cookies for Student Council but instead of turning to their resident chef Felix, he runs to Minho, his longstanding and reliable crush. Finding out, Hyunjin gives Seungmin an ultimatimum to confess and then sets the Stray Kids gossip train in motion to tell everyone of the exciting event on the horizon.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Past Han Jisung | Han/Hwang Hyunjin - Relationship
Comments: 25
Kudos: 238





	It has to be homemade

**Author's Note:**

> Someone on twitter asked me for 2min so I hope this does the trick. It was fun to write but boy are there subplots waiting to be written now. Enjoy!

“Hyung,” Seungmin said breathlessly, striding up to Minho, his eyes wide with stress.

“Kim Seungmin,” Minho replied formally. He turned to his friends that were milling around the engineering building with him before they went home. “Guys, this is my ex, Seungmin. Seungmin, these are other people I spend time with.” He would normally introduce them by name but he could tell Seungmin was in no position to be remembering names and he’d just beat himself up about it later if he forgot because he was so incredibly sincere like that. This way Seungmin could blame Minho for not knowing if they met again.

“Ex?” Chinhwa asked teasingly. “Ex-what?”

“Ex-partner,” Minho replied. He didn’t specify that it was technically ex-partner-in-crime. They didn’t need to know that and it was more fun to let them misunderstand him. “I know- I’m far too pretty for him, but something about those eyes just got me…” He turned to look at Seungmin who was gripping the straps of his backpack so tight his knuckles were turning white. His pleading eyes still had Minho entranced. “Anyway,” Minho said breezily to distract from the way he had to prise Seungmin’s fingers off his bag, “see you guys later.”

“What are you doing?” Seungmin grumbled as Minho dragged him away to whoops of ridicule from his friends.

“Saving your sorry ass,” Minho replied. “What’s up? Do I have to put Hwang Hyunjin in the air fryer again?”

“What? No?” Seungmin said in confusion, the stress already draining from his face. Minho might not be able to put ‘destressing Kim Seungmin’ on his CV but he certainly considered it a valuable skill he’s honed over the years.

“Shame,” Minho replied- tormenting Hyunjin was always fun. He wondered what had gotten Seungmin so stressed if it wasn’t Hyunjin. If it wasn’t something urgent he’d like to stop in at the coffee shop he liked coming up ahead of them but Seungmin rarely had problems he couldn’t solve by himself. “Need me to kiss you in front of homophobic relatives again?”

Seungmin winced.

 _Ah._ So it was that again _._ Seungmin was so predictable. “Please tell me it’s a wedding.”

“No. It’s not any of that, Hyung,” Seungmin complained. “And I’m sorry for making you do that.”

“Seungminnie, I got to eat very fancy food I didn’t pay for and be a dick to strangers. It was my pleasure.” Kissing Seungmin had been alright too. He’d been (understandably) tense as fuck but Minho thought he had potential.

“It’s my turn to do the home baking for the student council next week,” Seungmin admitted his plight. “I need your help.”

Minho couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s it? Seriously? Seung, I thought it was something important.” With the crisis non-existent Minho decided he’d get that coffee after all. He might even pay for Seungmin’s for giving him a good laugh.

“Hyung, it _is_ important,” Seungmin whined, trailing after him. “I can’t poison the student council.”

“So buy cake then,” Minho suggested, ordering two coffees without consulting Seungmin.

“I can’t do that!” Seungmin complained. “It’s always homemade. They’ll think I’m lazy, or rude.”

How anybody could mistake Seungmin for lazy, Minho had no idea. He was the secretary of the student council for god’s sake- that alone screamed over-achiever. And he was so painfully polite to strangers that Minho had to regularly yell loudly at people to stop Seungmin writing their essays for them.

“Ok. Bake then,” Minho said.

“Hyung.” Seungmin stared at him imploringly. “ _Hyung_.” Minho suddenly remembered the blackened state of the oven in Seungmin and Hyunjin’s flat. It technically still worked but Chan had taped it shut with hazard tape and banned them from even thinking of opening the door.

“Yeah ok. Good point. You can come over Saturday night and we’ll make something. Any dietary restrictions?”

“One girl is vegan?” Seungmin said without confidence.

“What a way to take the joy out of life,” Minho commented and took their coffees from the barista with a small smile. He handed the one labelled as added syrup to Seungmin and ushered the boy back out of the cafe. “But yeah, we can work with vegan. Cookies?”

“Sure,” Seungmin agreed. “I can buy the ingredients.” He was so well-mannered, unlike the other idiots Chan had convinced Minho to care for.

“I’ll send you a list,” Minho said, already thinking about what kind of cookies to make. Baking wasn’t really his thing- that was Felix’s speciality- but he’d made enough treats as a kid to have a good idea of what he was doing. Chocolate chip could never go wrong (unless you had a vegan for a customer) and maybe there was a vegan version of chocolate chips. Felix would know.

“Not that I won’t help,” Minho started, “but why didn’t you ask Felix?”

Seungmin let the straw of his coffee fall out of his mouth in his surprise. “I didn’t think of that.”

“Didn’t think of that?” Minho said in disbelief. “Seung, he’s a _chef.”_

“Yeah,” Seungmin admitted grumpily. “But whenever I try and cook with him it’s a disaster. Plus, he’d make something too fancy anyway. I don’t want the student council thinking I’m some kind of baking wizard- they’ll want me to do it more often.”

“So you called upon my help to make mediocre cookies?”

“Intensely mediocre cookies,” Seungmin agreed happily. “Average. Completely unremarkable.”

“You know I’m going to put gochujang in them now,” Minho told him.

“Hyung,” Seungmin whined. “It’s for Student Council.”

“Kidding, kidding,” Minho said, rolling his eyes. He wouldn’t really try to tarnish Seungmin’s reputation like that. “Are you going home now or to the library like a _nerd.”_

Seungmin sent him an unamused stare that said ‘ _you just left Robotics Club, you have nothing over me_ ’. “I’m going home.”

Minho walked Seungmin to his door even though he should have split off for his own flat ten minutes previously. He claimed it was to stroll in the nice weather but really the more relaxing part of that activity was being sure Seungmin got home safe. Minho rang the bell before Seungmin could unclip his keys from their special compartment inside his bag and the bell brought Hyunjin running. He must have been expecting delivery.

“Ah. Hyung,” he said disappointedly and leaned on the wall to let Seungmin past. “What brings you here?”

Minho shrugged. “Heard your air fryer had been empty lately.” Hyunjin’s eyes went wide and he shut the door a fraction. “Nah,” Minho relented. “You’re coming to mine for dinner on Saturday. Wear your ugliest sweater.”

“What if I’m busy,” Hyunjin said.

“You’re not,” Seungmin replied, crouching down to unlace his shoes. “I’m making cookies with Hyung as well so you might get some too if you come.”

“Oooh.” Hyunjin was interested now.

“Only if you eat your vegetables,” Minho warned him. “Otherwise I feed yours to Jisung.”

“Why does that sound like more of a threat to Jisung?” Hyunjin pondered. Seungmin finished taking off his shoes and shoved Hyunjin back inside their flat.

“It was a threat to both of you. Go take down your laundry already.”

“Why?” Hyunjin complained as he wandered off. “It’s not like you’re going to start washing clothes now.”

“I will in the morning,” Seungmin turned to argue. “And you’ll still be asleep.”

“No, don’t wake me up with the washing machine,” Hyunjin whined. “Seungminnieee. It’s so loud.”

“Wake up at a normal hour then,” Seungmin replied snarkily.

Minho found himself smiling at their bickering. He was glad Seungmin had sought him out that evening and brightened the end of his day. He even had something to look forward to at the weekend too now.

“Good night, Seungmin,” Minho said. “No staying up stressing about Student Council now.”

“Nope,” Seungmin assured him with a wide smile. “Thank you. You’re the best, Hyung.”

“And don’t you forget it!” Minho said as he took a step back to leave.

“Text me when you’re home,” Seungmin said hurriedly.

“Will do.”

“Goodnight Hyung.”

“Night.”

Minho stepped out into the cool air and took a deep breath. Maybe he shouldn’t have bought coffee so late at night- he felt as high as a kite now.

***

“Ya! Seung, what the hell was that?” Hyunjin yelled as soon as the door was closed.

“What?” Seungmin replied grumpily.

“What?” Hyunjin mocked him. “Where do you want me to start? The coffee? The date on Saturday? You getting walked to the door?”

Seungmin picked one of Hyunjin’s socks off the drier and threw it at Hyunjin’s face. “It’s not like that. I panicked when I found out I have to make home baking for Student Council next week and I asked Hyung to help.”

Hyunjin stared at him in disbelief. “You panicked about baking and you didn’t think to call Lix? Dude, you’re in deep.”

Hyunjin got his boxers thrown at him next. “Shut up. Minho-hyung was nearby, that’s all.”

“Uh huh,” Hyunjin said, not believing that for a second. He added the boxers to his pile of ‘folded’ clothes. He was content to just move them to the chair in his room but Seungmin was already stealing socks from the pile to refold them in a way he saw fit. “And you broke your ‘no coffee after six pm’ rule because….?”

“Hyung bought it,” Seungmin said. “I didn’t have a chance to tell him not to.”

“Because you were too busy staring at him with stars in your eyes,” Hyunjin finished teasingly. Seungmin threw the socks he’s just folded and Hyunjin caught them out of the air, laughing. “You’re so obvious! Seriously, if you don’t tell him by the end of Saturday, I will.”

Seungmin glared at him. “Hyunjin, no. I’m not telling him.”

“Pleeeease,” Hyunjin whined. “It’s painful to watch. I thought for sure it would come out when you took him to that family dinner. I can’t take it anymore.”

“ _You_ can’t take it?” Seungmin asked incredulously. “You’re not even the one in love with him.”

Hyunjin opened his mouth in a silent scream of delight. This was the most fun he’d had in weeks. “Oh my god.”

“Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up,” Seungmin chanted with red ears as he pummeled Hyunjin with his hoodie. “Shut up, Hyunjin. Shut your goddamn mouth.”

“I said nothing!” Hyunjin exclaimed, holding his arms over his head. He was going to text Jeongin immediately about this though, and probably everyone else in their friend group too. He was even a little tempted to walk over to The Professionals flat to get their reactions live but Seungmin would catch on to him immediately and Hyunjin still had six months of their joint lease to live through.

“Hyunnie, please,” Seungmin begged. He’d stopped attacking and was gripping Hyunjin’s hoodie tightly with a distressed frown on his face. Hyunjin immediately sat up and pulled him into a hug.

“I’ll not tell,” he promised though he hated to lose that kind of blackmail. “Seung, you really have to say something soon though. Minho-hyung isn’t going to be mean about it, even if he doesn’t like you back. And then you can either get with him or get over him. You’re too cute to spend your entire university experience pining.”

“I’m not pining,” Seungmin argued. Hyunjin pulled back from the hug and stared Seungmin down.

“You are absolutely pining. Go on- tell me everything you like about him.”

Seungmin resolutely pressed his lips together.

Hyunjin tickled his sides. “Come oooon. Or you’re going to explode before Saturday.”

“I don’t need to tell you,” Seungmin said primly. “I can write it down in my diary.”

“Oh my god,” Hyunjin said. “Of _course_ you write about him in your diary.” The doorbell rang again and Hyunjin sincerely hoped it was his delivery food this time. “Stay there,” he told Seungmin. “I’m coming back.”

Seungmin was gone from the living room when Hyunjin returned and the hoodie he had been hugging was neatly folded on top of the rest of Hyunjin’s clothes. Hyunjin knew where he was though. He pushed open Seungmin’s door with his foot and jumped onto his bed. Seungmin glanced up at him from his desk, unamused.

“Don’t eat on my bed.”

“I won’t spill.”

“Yeah, you won’t if you’re not on my bed in the first place.”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes but got up… and sat himself back down in Seungmin’s lap. “If you let me read your diary I’ll give you a chip.”

“Absolutely not,” Seungmin replied, shutting his diary and placing his hand firmly on top of it. “I deserve a chip for even putting up with you.”

Hyunjin dutifully fed him one. “Ok but really. You have to give me something. You know I’m a romantic.”

“ _You_ are, _I’m_ not,” Seungmin argued as he chewed. “Why do you need to know.”

“Because I’m your friend,” Hyunjin complained. “And you’re never going to say something to Minho-hyung if you can’t even admit it out loud when he’s not here. Please. Jisung’s not made a fool of himself in weeks. I need this.”

“I thought this was supposed to be about me,” Seungmin grumbled.

“It is,” Hyunjin agreed. “But also me. Do you think Minho-hyung is into BDSM?”

Seungmin rained hits down on Hyunjin’s back. “Ew! No! Shut up!”

“He might be!” Hyunjin protested. “I take it you aren’t though. Noted.”

“Hyunjin!”

Hyunjin grinned. This was fun already.

* * *

“Hi Hyungs,” Hyunjin said, busting into the 3RACHA studio without warning. “I swear this is important.”

Their studio was a small space in a big company, kitted out with soundproofing foam on the walls, huge speakers, and two sleek display screens. Their recording set-up was jammed in the corner because they’d wheeled two extra chairs in from somewhere and it took up all the floor space. A more established producer would probably get a room like this to themselves but the three boys were up-and-coming so they shared it. They claimed it was good because they could bounce ideas off of each other but Hyunjin personally thought they deserved to be upgraded by now for all the money they’d made for the company.

Chan pushed back from the desk as Hyunjin shut the door behind him and held his hands open as if to say ‘ _bitch, right in the middle of my bop?’_ Hyunjin ignored him and pushed past to sit on the arm of Jisung’s chair.

“I swear to god if you two start making out,” Changbin threatened. Only then did Jisung look up from his phone with a mildly interested expression.

“It’s not that,” Hyunjin said dismissively. “It’s 2Min.”

“Oh?” Chan said. _Now_ he cared about what Hyunjin had to say. Typical.

“Minho-hyung invited me and Seung over for dinner on Saturday,” he told Jisung. “I presume you have not been forewarned about this?”

“I have not,” Jisung confirmed. “What’s the occasion?”

“Seung needs to make cookies for Student Council and went to Hyung for help. They’re doing that Saturday too.”

“Felix-” Chan spluttered out.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes. Chan was so whipped he couldn’t even form a sentence. Hyunjin leaned back, bracing precariously off of Jisung’s shoulder and made sure Chan could see him judging him. There was a good chance he was going to fall and bleed all over their nice expensive studio but he looked good at this angle. “Yeah _._ _We know_. Seung wasn’t thinking with his brain.”

“Was thinking with his _dick!”_ Jisung interjected gleefully. Chan kicked him.

“But if even Lix can’t neutralise Seung’s inability to cook are we sure that putting him in the kitchen with Minho-hyung is a good idea?” Changbin asked worriedly.

“Binnie-hyung,” Hyunjin told him patronisingly. “They’re not baking cookies, they’re baking a _relationship_.”

“But they are going to try to make cookies,” Chan pointed out. “And that’s a major fire hazard.”

“...yeah,” Hyunjin admitted reluctantly.

“Sung, invite me to yours on Saturday,” Chan demanded.

“I’m not the one cooking!” Jisung protested, holding up his hands in surrender. “Ask Hyung!”

“He’ll get suspicious!” Chan countered, as if Minho wasn’t suspicious of everything they did. Hyunjin was just loving the drama he could create with this news. And he hadn’t even told Jeongin yet.

“He’ll be suspicious anyway if you suddenly crash his date!” Jisung said. “I’m surprised he even invited Hyunnie.”

Hyunjin shrugged. “I think he’s worried I’m not eating enough vegetables.”

“Are you?” Chan asked sternly.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “Yes, Dad. Potatoes are vegetables and I had chips for dinner last night.”

“Potatoes are a carb,” Chan said, frowning. He woke his phone to check the time. “You don’t have more class today, do you?” he asked Hyunjin. “We’re going for lunch.”

“We are?” Changbin asked excitedly. “Where?”

“Somewhere with vegetables,” Chan said as he saved their work.

Hyunjin scooped up his bag when they were ready and skipped out the room after Changbin. He was always up for free food.

“By the way, Hyunjinnie?” Changbin asked as they were waiting for the lift. “How did you even get in here?”

“Tell your boss your security is shit,” Hyunjin said flippantly. Jisung stared at him with the fear of a hamster caught in the open. Hyunjin ran his hand through his hair and gave them an extra second to panic. “Nah, I showed the guard the selfies we took last week. But really, I could easily have photoshopped them so your security is shit.”

* * *

“Felix!” Chan cheered from the living room when Felix stepped over the threshold. Felix smiled to himself as he took off his shoes and coat. Chan’s enthusiasm never dimmed and it never failed to warm his heart.

“Hey,” he said quietly, tumbling onto the couch beside Chan. He’d get up and put the leftovers in the freezer in a minute. He just needed to be off his feet for a little bit.

“How was work?” Chan asked, his hand catching on something sticky clumping part of Felix’s fringe together.

“Uhh,” Felix replied. Where to start? “Nobody sent back a plate for anything I made?”

“That’s good,” Chan said proudly. “Were you on the mains?”

“Yeah. Meat and fish,” Felix answered. “People need to stop ordering milkfish. It’s a bitch to fillet.”

“I’ll let the people know,” Chan teased.

“Thank you.” Felix closed his eyes for a moment before rolling onto his back to look up at Chan. “How was work for you?”

“Fine,” Chan said dismissively. “ Got that ballad finished. Oh, and Hyunjinnie by-passed security at lunchtime.”

“Isn’t it fingerprint scanners?” Felix asked. He had to get Chan to come down and vouch for him any time he tried to visit.

“Yeah. The guard let him past. He claims it was because he had selfies with Sung but.. I dunno.”

“You think he flirted his way in?” Felix asked.

“Doubt it,” Chan said. “It was a male guard. That’s like the fourth time he’s managed it as well. I really need to remember and talk to someone about it.”

“I’m sure it’s not a real security threat,” Felix assured him. “Hyunnie wouldn’t be ok with you guys being at risk like that. What was he there for anyway? Free food?”

“Nah.” Chan yawned widely and it set Felix off too. “He got some anyway though. He had 2Min gossip. Apparently Minho is helping Seung make cookies for Student Council on Saturday.”

“The _audacity_ ,” Felix gasped. He’d taught Seungmin to make cookies before and _he_ was the one that cooked for a living. Granted, the cookies he’d made with Seungmin had been… not great, but that wasn’t him being a bad teacher. Seungmin was just kind of hopeless in the kitchen and he brought out the stupid side of Felix with his enthusiastic (and terrible) suggestions.

“I’m a little more concerned with the _health hazard_ myself,” Chan said. “I’d ask you to help them but-”

“I can’t anyway,” Felix interrupted. “I’m working.”

“Noooo,” Chan whined, pulling the corners of Felix’s mouth down in an exaggerated sad face. “I was doing good this week. I was gonna take Saturday off.”

“I’ve got tomorrow off?” Felix offered. “And Sunday.”

Chan stopped pulling at his face and just rested his hand on Felix’s cheek. His fingertips were cold. “How mad do you think the boys would be if I skipped tomorrow?”

“Depends,” Felix said, knowing there was a very slim chance of Chan actually skipping work all day. “Are you in the middle of anything?”

“I mean..” 3RACHA was always in the middle of something. They had about twenty projects on the go continuously.

“BINNIE-HYUNG?” Felix called out to the flat, deciding to find out the easy way.

“YOU GOT FOOD?” Changbin replied from the direction of his room.

“Oh shit! The ice cream,” Felix remembered, rushing to stand up and reach his bag.

“FoOooOod?” Changbin sang as he skipped down the corridor to investigate.

“Yeah, ice cream,” Felix said distractedly. He took the tub out his bag and felt around the inside for any telltale dampness of a leak. He was lucky. “Oh. And raspberries. They’re kinda squishy though.”

Chan was on the raspberries in seconds and he grinned at Felix with red-stained lips. “Love you, Lixie.”

“Uh huh,” Felix said, taking his uniform out to put in the laundry basket. “Cupboard love.” Changbin returned from the kitchen with spoons and Felix handed him the tub. “How cool are you with Chan skipping work tomorrow?”

Changbin stuck a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth and frowned. Felix knew he should have asked _before_ he handed over the ice cream. Changbin couldn’t multitask for shit. “What flavour is this,” Changbin garbled.

“Chilli chocolate,” Felix replied.

Changbin pulled a face. “Why is it hot _and_ cold?”

“ _Chilli_. Chocolate. _Ice_ cream.” Felix watched his face. “Do you not like it?”

“I don’t know?” Changbin mumbled but he took another spoonful.

“Is it hot?” Chan asked Felix, leaning over him. They were both completely useless once food appeared.

“It was?” Felix said. “I think one of the reasons I got it home was because the chilli flavour mellows out?” Chan took a spoon anyway. He was never not going to try it even if Felix had said it would burn his tongue off.

“IN! ICE CREAM!” Felix called before the producers could finish it all. “QUICK!”

Jeongin stumbled out of his room with his hair in disarray and Felix took the ice cream tub out of Changbin’s grip to hand it to him. Chan and Changbin just rose with the tub and huddled around Jeongin to keep eating. They liked it then.

“It’s spicy?” Jeongin said in confusion. Honestly, if Felix ever wanted to poison them he could do it in seconds. Not a single one of them asked what they were eating before it went in their mouth.

“Chilli,” Chan told him. “You can finish it.” Changbin also relented and Felix took the opportunity to repeat his question.

“Can Chan skip work tomorrow? Yes or no.”

Changbin pulled a face. “No. We’re recording?” He directed the last sentence at Chan and Chan looked sheepish.

“So we are.”

Changbin huffed dramatically. “Hyung.”

“I just forgot _temporarily,”_ Chan mollified him. “I would have remembered.”

“Mmm hmm,” Changbin said. He turned back to Felix. “So no, you can’t have your boyfriend home tomorrow. If it goes well we might be done early though.”

Felix shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me. Chan was just trying to reschedule because I’m working Saturday.”

“Ah,” Changbin said knowingly. “You’ll miss the 2Min combustion.”

“So I hear,” Felix replied.

“The what what?” Jeongin asked, looking up from the now empty ice cream tub. Chan briefly explained the gossip Hyunjin had provided and Jeongin’s famous smile lit up his face. “Oh I am going to _destroy_ Seungmin on Friday.”

* * *

“How are the other babies?” Hyunjin greeted Jeongin at his front door.

“Adorable,” Jeongin replied. He’d long since given up trying to deny that he was a baby too despite the significant age difference between him and the preschoolers he looked after. “How are the walls?” Hyunjin’s final year project was on ...walls? and their similarities to fashion trends. Jeongin didn’t fully understand it but he’d seen a lot of photos of walls.

“More stable than I am,” Hyunjin replied, stepping to one side to let Jeongin in. “Honestly, what am I doing?”

“Beats me,” Jeongin replied. “Talk to Seung about it.” Seungmin and Hyunjin both studied photography making them perfect friends to soundboard for each other. Unfortunately for Jeongin, them being on the same course also meant they both got stressed at the same time and he was left as the sane friend. This year was their last as undergraduates and though their degree show was months away the stressing was already reaching new heights.

“Hyunjin has already reached his weekly quota of wall-related conversations,” Seungmin explained from the couch where he was curled around a steaming mug. Their Friday night meet-ups had got a lot more mellow over the years.

“I’ve started talking to the walls,” Hyunjin told Jeongin as he reclaimed his spot with Seungmin’s feet tucked under his thigh. Jeongin took the other end of the couch and threw his feet over Hyunjin’s lap, prodding Seungmin with his toe just for the hell of it.

“Bad conversation?” Jeongin asked Hyunjin.

“Dry,” Hyunjin replied.

“Stop with the wall jokes,” Seungmin grumbled. “It stopped being funny weeks ago.”

“What’s got you so grumpy?” Jeongin asked. “I would have thought you’d be happy about your date with Minho-hyung.”

Seungmin turned to look at him sharply and then his gaze shifted to Hyunjin. “Hwang Hyunjin, I will kill you.”

“I didn’t tell him the thing!” Hyunjin protested. “I just told Jisung about coming over and he must have told Channie-hyung who must have told Innie.” That was a bare-faced lie because Jeongin had heard a lot more than that from Chan who had heard directly from Hyunjin. Seungmin bought it though.

“Ok.”

“What’s this ‘thing’ though,” Jeongin asked. “Do you have a real date?”

“No,” Seungmin said sharply. “It’s none of your business. Hyunjin can’t keep his mouth shut.”

“I know,” Jeongin replied easily. “Which is why I’m asking you to tell me before I get him drunk.”

“Hey!” Hyunjin complained, a little belatedly. “I can keep a secret.”

“You really can’t,” Seungmin told him with a sigh. He looked at Jeongin calculatingly. “Can you?”

“You know it,” Jeongin said confidently. He held so many secrets about their friend group, they had no idea.

Seungmin pursed his lips as he considered it. “I let slip to Hyunjin that I was in love with Minho-hyung, WHICH,” he held up a hand to stall any comments, “may not be exactly true but I do have strong feelings for him. Hyunjin wants me to confess tomorrow.”

“Before or after you burn down his kitchen?” Jeongin got kicked for that remark.

"The kitchen is not going to burn down," Seungmin prophesied. "We're going to make perfectly boring normal cookies in one attempt and it's going to go great."

"Sure, darling," Hyunin said, patting Seungmin's leg. "You think that."

"I want to witness this," Jeongin decided. Seungmin was more stressed than he'd expected and Hyunjin was flirting with death. There was no way this couldn't be fun. He took out his phone and dialed Minho's number.

"What are you doing?" Seungmin asked warily. Jeongin ignored him.

 _"Hi,"_ Minho answered. " _Are you bored with Point and Shoot?"_ Everyone knew Jeongin, Seungmin and Hyunjin hung out on a Friday night. It was a years long tradition they rarely broke.

"Nah. They're actually great entertainment," Jeongin told him, leaning away as Hyunjin tapped on his leg to get to hear the conversation. "Can I come tomorrow?"

 _"Sure,"_ Minho replied easily. " _No plus ones."_

"And where would I find one of those?" Jeongin asked rhetorically. He'd been single for a long time and it didn't look like that was changing soon.

 _"Your flatmates,"_ Minho said. " _Bang Chan can keep his pretty nose out of my business."_

"I won't even tell him I'm coming," Jeongin vowed and Seungmin raised his eyebrows questioningly.

" _Atta boy,"_ Minho said. _"See you tomorrow. Bring booze."_ And with that Minho hung up.

"Good news," Jeongin told his audience. "I'm joining you tomorrow "

"That is terrible news," Seungmin bemoaned. "I hate both of you."

"But you _love_ Minho-hyung," Hyunjin sang teasingly. He was kicked so hard he fell into Jeongin's lap with a groan.

“Jeongin, do you want tea?” Seungmin asked politely as he got up with his empty mug.

“Can’t I have coffee?” Jeongin asked as Seungmin wandered into the kitchen.

“No, it’s after six pm- _shut_ up, Hyunjin,” Seungmin interrupted himself. Hyunjin giggled into Jeongin’s thigh.

Jeongin pulled Hyunjin’s hair. “Tell me,” he demanded.

Hyunjin wriggled onto his back and smiled cheekily up at Jeongin. “Minho-hyung bought Seung coffee when he walked him home on Tuesday.”

“You absolute hypocrite, Kim Seungmin!” Jeongin called through to the kitchen. “Give me coffee!”

***

“Innie, are you staying over?” Hyunjin asked, one film and a lot of bitching about their weeks later.

“If I am, I'm not going home again before we go to Hyung’s,” Jeongin replied. He didn’t live far but it was a short walk to Minho and Jisung’s place from Hyunjin and Seungmin’s flat and he wasn’t going to take two unnecessary bus rides tomorrow if he didn’t have to.

Hyunjin shrugged. “I’ll be busy crying over my installation blueprint all afternoon but you’re welcome to watch.”

“Or I could film Seung having a meltdown over what shade of pastel to wear,” Jeongin suggested.

Seungmin glared at him but didn’t deny it.

“What ya thinking, Seung?” Hyunjin asked, stroking the soft hair at the nape of Seungmin’s neck. “Blue?”

“Leave me alone,” Seungmin said half-heartedly. They’d worn him down over the night and it was late now so he was less defensive about his crush.

“I don’t think we can,” Hyunjin said. “We should all sleep in your bed tonight since it might be your last night as a single man.”

“Last time we did that Innie ended up on the floor,” Seungmin pointed out. They’d been drunk which was why the bad decision had been made in the first place. Three men did not fit in one bed, especially when one of the men was Hyunjin.

“That hurt,” Jeongin added. Not at the time. At the time he’d continued sleeping, but in the morning… He’d had some wicked bruises to go with his hangover.

“So we’ll put Innie on the side closest to the wall,” Hyunjin suggested. Jeongin exchanged a glance with Seungmin to decide who would be the one to convince Hyunjin against this idea. He lost.

“Hyunnie, just let Seung sleep by himself. If he has a bad night he’ll be stressed and chicken out tomorrow.”

“Chickening out is not an option,” Hyunjin said sternly, pointing a finger at Seungmin. “I will tell Hyung for you if you don’t do it yourself. Though how he hasn’t worked it out himself, I have no idea.”

“Cognitive bias,” Jeongin said. “Minho-hyung thinks he’s projecting and dismisses anything romantic Seung does as misinterpreted friendly intentions.”

“Oooh,” Hyunjin said appraisingly. “Smart baby. Is this what they’re teaching in preschool now?”

“No. We’re teaching ‘don’t hit your friends if they do something you don’t like’,” Jeongin replied. “You two could do with a refresher course.”

His knowledge of cognitive bias actually came from a period of intense internet searching to try and work out if he was insane for thinking Hyunjin liked him back. The results had been inconclusive and so he’d kept his crush hidden. It had been easy enough to do at high school because they were in different years and were rarely together around others for anybody to pick up on it. And then Hyunjin had gone to university and had been a little more distant, allowing Jeongin to mostly get over him. He’d also met Seungmin and Jeongin had come to the firm conclusion after watching them interact that Hyunjin _didn’t_ like him back. He treated Seungmin just the same and they were just friends so he must just be friends with Jeongin too. Jeongin was fine with that. It was excellent, actually, because nobody knew anything to the contrary and so he wasn’t suspected once.

“I would love to go back to preschool,” Hyunjin said wistfully. “Miss Jung adored me and I spent half my day in the dance corner.” Jeongin could see it. Hyunjin’s baby pictures were very cute and you could tell from his poses that he was already full of attitude at that age.

“I bet you were a little bitch at snack time,” Seungmin commented.

“I was,” Hyunjin said proudly. “My mum had to pack me food every day because I wouldn’t eat anything the preschool prepared.”

“I had a truck obsession,” Seungmin admitted. “I wouldn’t do anything unless trucks were involved.”

“We’ve got a kid like that just now,” Jeongin said. “She thinks bin lorries are the coolest shit. I nearly lost her at the park once because a lorry stopped on the road and she crawled through the fence to get to it.”

“Respect,” Seungmin said, nodding in support of this unknown four-year-old.

***

They soon went to bed, with Jeongin in Hyunjin’s bed wearing a onesie borrowed from Seungmin. It was best to be dressed warmly in Hyunjin’s bed because Hyunjin got hot easily and had a habit of kicking the duvet off and leaving his associates exposed to the elements. Jeongin had his own stash of clothes in Hyunjin’s wardrobe and he could have chosen some of them but the onesie covered him from neck to toe so Hyunjin couldn’t ‘accidently’ slip his hand up Jeongin’s shirt as they fell asleep. It also helped that the onesie smelled like Seungmin.

Jeongin punched his pillow into a better shape and lay down facing the door, waiting. Sure enough, Hyunjin rolled towards him and nuzzled into the back of his neck, his arm wrapping around Jeongin’s stomach. Jeongin let Hyunjin push one leg between his own and reminded himself that this was just friendly. After seven years of practice it was easy to calm his racing heart and fall asleep like nothing hurt.

* * *

“I don’t have to get dressed, do I?” Jisung asked from the kitchen. He was making ramen as a pre-dinner snack. And also breakfast/lunch. Basically, he’d only recently woken up and this was the first thing he was eating but Minho would probably start getting to work on dinner soon.

“No, but Seung will judge you,” Minho replied. His voice was steady despite the V-sits he was doing on their living room floor.

“Seung always judges me,” Jisung pointed out. He turned off the flame and took his pot of ramen through to the living room to eat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. This was how Saturdays were supposed to be spent. He’d sent some lyrics across to Chan in the early hours (and gotten an immediate reply) so he’d technically done work today too.

“Oh, also Innie is coming so he’ll judge you too,” Minho said.

Jisung frowned. The ratio was not looking good. “I’ll get dressed,” he decided. “What time are they getting here?”

“Well, I told Seung six, so ten to six.” Minho replied. He finished his set and sat up to hug his knees and catch his breath. “Are you gonna shower cos I need to after this.”

“You not gonna attract Seung with your man musk?” Jisung asked. Minho hadn’t even really worked up a sweat despite having been doing floor exercises since before Jisung woke up and some people liked that ‘just finished working out’ look. Jisung was one such person, which was unfortunate because it made him drool over many of his friends before his brain came back online.

Minho narrowed his eyes at Jisung knowingly. “No. I’m showering.”

“Suit yourself,” Jisung said and shoved his mouth full of ramen.

***

By the time the trio arrived (nine minutes to six, but Jisung would forgive Seungmin for that) they were both washed and dressed and ready to host. Seungmin carefully set a backpack of ingredients in the kitchen and Jeongin handed over a twelve-pack of beers. Hyunjin swanned in like he owned the place and draped himself over their couch and Jisung.

“When’s dinner?”

“Later,” Jisung said, shoving him off enough to breathe. “Hyung hasn’t started. I think cookies are being made first.” He could hear Minho and Seungmin organising something in the kitchen.

Hyunjin pulled a face. “Here’s hoping it’s more than that or it’s gonna be a long night.”

“Hyunnie, shush,” Jeongin hissed, lightly hitting Hyunjin’s jean-clad thigh as he passed to get to the armchair.

Jisung tapped Hyunjin’s shoulder and raised his eyebrows questioningly when Hyunjin turned to look at him. Hyunjin tilted up his face and made a kissy face. _Me?_ Jisung thought. He’d kissed Hyunjin before, on many occasions, but it had been a while and this wasn’t the typical situation that got them started. Still, he pointed to himself just to check.

“No,” Hyunjin said, pushing his face away. “Obviously, the thing we talked about.” He pointed to the kitchen.

 _Ohhhh._ Yeah, that made a lot more sense.

“What’s your side of the story?” Hyunjin asked.

“Hyunnie,” Jeongin said again. “Not now.”

Hyunjin threw back his head impatiently. “This is going to take forever and I’ve not even got any food to pass the time.”

“You could have brought snacks,” Jisung told him.

“I thought I was being fed,” Hyunjin replied. He looked up at Jisung. “Can you put music on?”

“Can you get off of me?” Jisung countered.

Hyunjin reluctantly sat up and Jisung went to retrieve his speakers from his room. He’d thought he was just entertaining Hyunjin, which was easy enough to do, but with Jeongin too they had to be social. They were both really close friends so there was no pressure at all but Jisung felt he had a best friend duty to keep their attention away from the kitchen and it was making him antsy. Hyunjin was right- it was going to take forever.

***

Jisung was in the middle of a rather dramatic retelling of a marketing meeting when Jeongin held up a hand to stop him.

“Can you guys smell burning?”

Now it was mentioned there was an unmistakable smell of burning. The three of them looked at each other for a second until Jisung broke the stand off and pushed Hyunjin back down onto the couch as he sprinted past to the kitchen. He opened the door with a flourish but it must have disturbed the air in the room because the smoke alarm started blaring the second he did. Hyunjin pushed into the kitchen behind him and so Jisung was in the middle of the room before he realised Seungmin was sat up on their counter with his heels hooked around the back of Minho’s thighs and his arms around Minho’s neck. And not in a violent way.

“Yes Seung!” Hyunjin cheered as the two of them turned to look at the intruders in surprise. He grinned. “Don’t mind us, just gonna turn this off.” And with that he hoisted Jisung up into the air below the fire alarm. “Press the thingy, Sung.”

It had been a while since Jisung had last tried to turn off the smoke alarm because he wasn’t one to cook and set it off in the first place and he fumbled to work out how to switch it off. It didn’t help that Hyunjin hadn’t fully thought through the way he’d picked Jisung up and Jisung swayed terrifyingly as Hyunjin got tired.

“Hyunjin, put me down,” Jisung begged, bracing off the ceiling. “ _Put me down.”_ Hyunjin took that to mean ‘drop me and catch me seconds before I collide with the floor.’ Jisung screamed. Loudly.

“For fuck’s sake,” Jeongin said, shouldering past them. He put on an oven mitt and removed a tray of very charred cookies from the oven, all but throwing them onto the stove before taking off the mit, arming himself with the broom in the corner, and jabbing the smoke alarm into submission.

They stared at each other through the hazy smoke as the room went silent.

“So,” Jisung started, from where he was sitting on the tiled floor (you couldn’t fall if you were on the floor). “I think you might have left that batch in a little too long.”

“Yeah, I think so,” Minho agreed. He was leaning back against the counter with his arm wrapped around Seungmin to grab his thigh posessively as if this wasn’t a very new development. Seungmin looked a little shell-shocked.

“You gonna try again now or later?” Jisung asked Minho.

Minho looked at Seungmin in consideration. “Later,” he decided.

“Does this mean dinner is going to be later?” Hyunjin asked. “Cos I’m hungry already.”

“Good news,” Minho told the rest of the room. “It was chicken for dinner but now it’s llama.”

“No!” Hyunjin yelped, hiding behind Jeongin. “I can wait!” His stomach growled loudly though.

Minho sighed and pushed off from the counter. “Fine. I’ll make you jeon now. The chicken will still take a while though.”

“Yes!” Hyunjin cheered. “Love you, Minho-hyung.”

“You are a pest,” Minho replied, opening the fridge. “Seung, how many eggs did you bring?”

“Six,” Seungmin answered, hopping down from the counter. Hyunjin held out a hand for a high five and Seungmin weakly gave him one.

MInho muttered to himself as he started taking out ingredients from their fridge. It was the most full it had been in a while and Jisung wasn’t even sure how to cook half the stuff in there. “Hyunjin, you’ll eat green onion, right?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin agreed. “Are you putting it in the pancakes?”

“No, I’m putting it in the cookies,” Minho said as he dumped a bunch of stuff on the counter where Seungmin had been. “Obviously, it’s going in the pancakes. Sung, get the frying pan and the big pot out. Seung, chop that, and that. Hyunnie, beat four eggs. Innie…” he turned to smile lovingly at the youngest in the room. “You’re doing amazing sweetie.”

Jeongin gave Minho an unimpressed look. “I’ll put the cookies in the bin.”

“I’m going to have to ask Lix to make me emergency cookies,” Seungmin said, watching their failed attempt tumble into the bin.

“You can make more,” Hyunjin suggested. He smiled in thanks as Jisung handed him a mixing bowl and Jisung continued rummaging to get their largest pot out of the cupboard.

“Considering I was pretty well focused until the last ten minutes of baking that time and all hopes of concentration are fully gone now,” Seungmin answered as he took a knife out of the drawer, “it can only go worse.”

“You’re welcome,” Minho said with a smirk. Seungmin laughed quietly at him. They were already well into the honeymoon phase.

“Ok, so you can make more, with supervision,” Hyunjin decided. “Innie!” he exclaimed. “You’re fully qualified!”

“I’m gonna get Channie-hyung to come pick me up,” Jeongin said unhappily. Jisung was ninety-nine percent sure he was faking it as he continued to help set the kitchenware on the stovetop.

“What did I say about not bringing Chan-hyung here?” Minho complained exasperatedly. “Aish. I gave you two conditions.”

“I don’t want to watch you make out with Seungmin!” Jeongin protested.

“You came here almost exclusively for that,” Seungmin pointed out.

“I came here to watch you be awkward as fuck and embarrass yourself,” Jeongin corrected him. “But you kicked me out of the kitchen for the awkward bit and now you’re being all _confident._ It’s disgusting. I’m going to have to find someone new to bully.”

“I recommend Hyunjin,” Minho said, as he started cooking.

“I said someone _new,”_ Jeongin replied. The kid had a razor sharp wit and he used it with deadly precision. Hyunjin clutched his heart in pain.

***

“Seungminnie, is Minho-hyung taken now?” Hyunjin asked once they were all contentedly full of food. Seungmin glanced nervously at Minho and Minho bobbed his head to encourage Seungmin to speak.

“I think so,” Seungmin answered.

“Damn,” Hyunjin replied, mostly unbothered. “Hyung, when you stay over at ours can you cook for me too?”

“Who says I’m staying at yours or cooking for anyone?” Minho said.

Seungmin turned to him where they were sitting next to each other and stared confidently into Minho’s eyes. “Please,” he said, a smile turning up the corners of his lips.

Jisung could see the tips of Minho’s ears turning red from his vantage point on the arm of the couch.

“Ahh!” Minho yelled, turning his head away as if the sight pained him.

“That’s a yes!” Jisung said gleefully. “Kim Seungmin, the power you hold.” Minho didn’t deny it. He had always had difficulty saying no to Seungmin.

“It’s great that you're planning future meals and all,” Jeongin piped up. “But weren’t cookies supposed to be happening today as well.”

“Fuck,” Seungmin said succinctly. “Student Council.”

“Just buy cake,” Minho suggested, leaning back against the couch and stretching like a cat. It was a move that typically meant he wasn’t moving for at least half an hour.

“Hyung. It has to be homemade,” Seungmin whined.

“A factory is just a really big home,” Minho argued. “For machines.”

“Please.”

“Arhh! You are the worst,” Minho complained, rolling to his feet. He held out a hand for Seungmin and pulled him up before taking some of the plates to cart them back to the kitchen. Seungmin took the rest and followed him.

“Set a timer!” Hyunjin called after them.

“They’re not gonna fuck in the kitchen, right?” Jisung asked as the door swung shut.

Hyunjin shrugged. “We did.” That was true but it had been an entirely different situation.

“And I’m going home!” Jeongin announced loudly.

Hyunjin threw himself across him, pinning Jeongin to his seat. "No, you can't leave me with the mistakes of my past!'

Jeongin frowned down at him. "Why? Afraid he's going to become the mistake of your present?"

"Eww, no," Jisung said quickly and Hyunjin backed him up with a similar noise of disgust.

"Never again," Hyunjin vowed. "I've got you back."

Jisung understood that as Hyunjin meant it- that with Jeongin as a close friend again Hyunjin wouldn't be so lonely as to seek a toxic relationship like he did with Jisung when Jeongin was in his final year of high school. From Jeongin's face, he did not reach the same interpretation.

“Not like that,” Jisung said quickly and Hyunjin looked up.

“Oh!” he said in horrified realisation. “No, you’re like my brother, Innie. Not like that _at all.”_

A strange emotion flashed across Jeongin’s face but it was gone before Jisung could pinpoint what it was and Jeongin was pushing Hyunjin off of him. “You’re just a _bother_ ,” he replied. Jisung could tell they were about to start squabbling but the kitchen door opened before the real insults could come out.

“You’re still dressed!” Jisung cheered Seungmin patronising as he stepped into the living room without even a rumple in his lavender cardigan.

"You're still single!" Seungmin shot back in the same tone as he came to retrieve his phone from the table.

"Ooh ho!' Jisung laughed, not offended by that in the slightest. "It's like that, is it?"

"It's like that," Seungmin confirmed, focusing on his phone.

“Whatcha doing, Seung,” Hyunjin asked when Seungmin was silent for too long.

“Grovelling to Felix,” Seungmin replied. He looked up. “I don’t suppose any of you know how important the refrigeration step is in making cookies?”

“Cookies go in the fridge?” Jisung asked. This was news to him.

“For at least thirty minutes before cooking,” Seungmin informed him. “We’re going to be here all night at this rate.”

“I kinda presumed you were staying all night regardless,” Hyunjin commented and Seungmin sent him a deadly glare. Fortunately for Hyunjin, Felix chose that moment to reply and Seungmin was distracted.

“Hyung!” he called back to Minho. “Lixie says putting the batter in the fridge is important.”

“Did he say why?” Minho answered. “We’re not trying to make good cookies, just average cookies.”

“Um!” Jisung interrupted loudly. “I would like you to make good cookies please!”

“They’re not for you,” Seungmin told him. “And no, Hyung. He’s mostly screaming at me confessing mid-bake last time.”

“I thought he was supposed to be a professional,” Minho complained and came through from the kitchen to hug Seungmin from behind and read over his shoulder. “That’s a lot of stickers.”

“We’ve been waiting for this to happen for years,” Jeongin pointed out. “He’s allowed to be excited.”

“For cookies?” Minho asked with faux innocence.

“It fucking feels like it,” Hyunjin muttered.

“Again, these cookies are not for you,” Seungmin said, apparently unbothered by Minho rubbing his head against his hair. “Go buy cookies on your way home if you’re that desperate.”

“Is this your way of telling me to go home without you,” Hyunjin asked. Hyunjin really had no self-perseverance.

“Is this your way of telling me you would like to be eaten by the Student Council?” Minho returned the attack in Seungmin’s stead as his boyfriend was texting again.

“No. I genuinely want to know if Seung is coming home,” Hyunjin said seriously. “I don’t like sleeping with nobody else in the house.”

“You actual child,” Jisung mocked him, poking Hyunjin in the cheek. “Do you need Innie to babysit you?”

“I’m going home,” Seungmin said distractedly. “Just like, in two more hours. We have to make vegan cookies too.”

“That’s so long,” Hyunjin bemoaned. “Like two episodes of a drama.”

“Or like two _hours,”_ Jeongin said. “I might actually go home though. I don’t want to get on the last bus.”

“Fair,” Minho said as he started to waddle Seungmin backward to the kitchen with him. “Can one of you walk him to his stop?”

“We’ll go together,” Jisung offered, knowing Hyunjin would want to as well. “When’s your bus, Innie?”

“Uhhh, twenty past normally,” Jeongin said hesitantly. “You really don’t have to walk me. I’m fine on my own.”

“We’re walking you,” Hyunjin said firmly. “And text Channie-hyung so he knows when to expect you.”

* * *

“Why did you invite Hyunjin?” Seungmin asked when the others finally left for the bus stop. Minho was whisking the mixture and Seungmin had given up pretending not to look at his arms as he did it.They were his arms to look at now anyway.

Minho laughed. “To make it seem less like a date. I thought if he and Sung were here they’d be loud enough to kill any weird tension.”

“You know the second you left on Tuesday Hyunjin was very loudly making fun of me for how much of a date it was,” Seungmin said. It was funnier in hindsight. “Also that you bought me coffee and I don’t drink coffee after six pm.”

“You don’t?” Minho asked. “Sorry, I didn’t know. I remember next time.” Next time.

“It’s fine. My mind was buzzing without the caffeine anyway.”

“Mmm,” Minho said, his eyes sparkling. “Thinking of me?”

“Obviously,” Seungmin grumbled. “Also Hyunnie was blackmailing me.”

“To get you to confess?” Minho asked. He stopped whisking and held up the whisk to to test how stiff the mixture was. It must have been good enough because he set it on the counter and reached instead for Seungmin, pulling him in to rest their foreheads together. Seungmin went cross-eyed trying to keep eye contact. “I’ll forgive Hyunjin this time,” Minho said, tilting his head to kiss Seungmin briefly. “But he’s on thin ice.”

“He’s always on thin ice,” Seungmin said, reluctantly pushing Minho away. “Come on. We can kiss more when the batter is cooling. What’s the next step?”

“After kissing?” Minho asked cheekily. “I think it’s handjobs?”

Seungmin felt his face heat up as he swiped at Minho’s arm. “In making cookies!” Seungmin scolded him. “We are making edible cookies tonight before _anything_ else.”

***

When Hyunjin and Jisung returned they had two different batters in the fridge and the four of them sat on the kitchen floor to watch the first batch bake.

“Can we just eat these ones,” Jisung asked as he pressed his face against the glass of the oven door to check on them. “You’ve got enough batter for another batch, right?”

“We’re not eating these ones,” Seungmin said firmly. “You can eat the vegan ones. I don’t need as many.”

“They smell really good though,” Hyunjin moaned. He lay flat on the floor, wasting away without substainance. “This is modern torture. I wasn’t raised with an ability for delayed gratification- I’m not equipped for this.”

“You could write a song about that,” Jisung mused.

“Thanks for the confidence in my writing lyrical abilities,” Hyunjin said, tipping his head to one side to look at Jisung. “But no, I couldn’t. I know someone who could though.”

Jisung pulled out his phone and Seungmin heard the rapid-fire electronic taps as he got to work turning Hyunjin’s dramatics into profit.

“They’re done!” Minho announced while Seungmin was distracted by the flour that had gotten into Hyunjin’s hair. He stood up and pulled the steaming treats from the oven.

“Mediocre?” Seungmin asked hopefully from the floor.

“I would say so,” Minho replied, handing Seungmin a tiny chunk. It was soft in his hand and the chocolate was still melting so he had to cradle it in his palm and quickly throw it into his mouth before it made a bigger mess.

“What happened to not eating them?” he asked as he blew the hot air from the cookie out of his mouth. It was good. Hot and chewy and sweet.

“That one broke,” Minho said, carefully feeding Jisung and Hyunjin similar chunks before taking one himself. Jisung made tiny nomming noises as he ate and Hyunjin ate it too fast, shaking his head as it burned his mouth.

“Did it break before or after you broke it?” Seungmin asked. Minho grinned down at him. It was definitely after.

“It broke,” he repeated. “Tasty, right?”

“It’s good,” Seungmin agreed. “Thanks for your help, Hyung.”

“Anytime,” Minho said with a wink. Seungmin had a feeling he wasn’t just talking about cookies anymore.


End file.
